— Satish Amblee, CEO, Atria Hospitality Management Services

Atria Hospitality Management Services, the Bangalore-based hotel management and consultancy company, is unfazed by the possible impact of the economic slowdown on hotel projects in India. CEO Satish Amblee is gung-ho about the continued growth of the hospitality industry and his company in coming years. An interview by Sandeep Menezes.

Will the global economic slowdown affect hotel projects in India?
The global economic slowdown will have an effect on all industries and hospitality is no exception. However, the hospitality sector will not be as affected as other industries as it is not only a service industry but also a brick-and-mortar investment industry. Cyclical ups and downs are very common for the hospitality industry. We have seen it all.
Hotel development and construction is more an infrastructure investment than just a growth for profit. Hospitality industry growth will continue but at a reduced momentum. In fact, this is the right time for hotel investments and to position ourselves for the boom as land prices have come down considerably.

What are your future plans?
We have projects, joint ventures and management services in Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi NCR, Coorg and other places. We are on the lookout for more projects in JV and management service.

Does AHMS have a growth target?
Yes, we are working on a planned growth. We will add 1,500 rooms of our own in the next five years with an investment of Rs 1,500 crore. We will manage properties through franchise, consultancy, management services etc., of another 1,500-2,000 rooms.

What is the business model of AHMS?
We as a group are in hospitality from the last 15 years (4-star hotels) and 20 years (3-star hotels). The Atria Hotel is a 168-room 4-star hotel in Bangalore CBD. Atria Hotel a 270-room 5-star hotel with Rs 315 crore investment and will open in 2009. The group also runs Chalukya Hotel (80 rooms) and Kanishka Hotel (120 rooms), both 2-star hotels. We want to expand to 1,500 rooms in the next five years by way of new projects, joint ventures, franchises, management etc.

What are the services offered by AHMS?
We offer hospitality management services such as hotel management, hotel consultancy and hotel franchise, and our brands are Atria Hotel (4 & 5 star), Atria Express (3 star), Atria Serviced Apartments and Atria Resorts.

How is AHMS different from its competitors?
We are offering hospitality management services to mostly new entrants into this industry and to real estate investors who have no idea of the sector. Our concentration is mainly in the mid-market segment of the hospitality industry.
According to the department of tourism, more than 100,000 rooms will be added in the country over the next 10 years and there is going to be a shortage of management personnel as well as companies with such expertise, and we will be one of those filling the gap.

What is the market size of hotel project consultancy?
We have no limit for the size. Our own hotel, Atria Hotel, in Whitefield, Bangalore, is a Rs 315-crore project. But we take projects of 100 rooms and above.